Some anti-abortion Republicans in the Senate, including 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz, said they will push the GOP majority in the House to vote against any funding bill for the government that includes money for Planned Parenthood.

"It's very disappointing to see extremists who are using this issue as a political football," U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said.

Before returning to Washington on Monday, Shaheen stopped by Planned Parenthood in Exeter. She said that despite edited videos leaked earlier this year to the media, she's convinced that the national organization is not engaged in the practice of selling fetal tissue for medical research.

"And I believe that's what the investigations that are underway in Congress and the Justice Department will show," she said.

Some Republicans said they want to redirect money meant for Planned Parenthood to other facilities, but Shaheen said that solution doesn't work in New Hampshire.

"We have a number of communities in the state that don't have community health care centers, but they have Planned Parenthood," she said. "So that's not an answer. The fact is, we need to make sure that women have the choices they deserve."

As the issue makes its way into the 2016 election cycle, U.S. Sen Kelly Ayotte's re-election campaign released a video Monday titled "Our Daughters" that was geared toward women.

A letter Ayotte sent to Cruz made it clear that while she's no fan of Planned Parenthood, the numbers don't add up in the Senate to override a presidential veto of a bill defunding the organization.

"I firmly oppose a government shutdown, especially when I have not heard any strategy for success," Ayotte said.

The funding debate is expected to take a backseat this week to a historic address to Congress by the pope. It's unclear whether Pope Francis will address the issue.